President Alan Garcia Perez of Peru awarded medals of merit to Colorado residents Ken and Ruth Wright for distinguished service to the Republic of Peru for their work regarding the prehistoric Inca over the last 14 years It was presented to them on October 10, 2007 by the Minister of External Relations, Jose Antonia Garcia Belaunde, at the Palacio Torre Tagle in a formal ceremony. The ceremony was attended by Ambassadora Marita Landaveri, former General Consul in Denver, and several other ambassadors, agency officials and numerous Peruvian colleagues. The ceremony was televised by a crew from Der Spiegel TV of Hamburg, Germany as part of a documentary on the Inca.
In addition to the medals, the Wrights each received a Presidential Resolution signed by President Garcia and Minister Garcia Belaunde, stating that the decorations were of the Order "Al Merito por Servicios Distinguidos", "Gran Oficial" for Ken Wright and "Oficial" for Ruth Wright.
The Supreme Resolutions stated that the President took into account the Wrights "outstanding scientific path" in dedicating more than a dozen years towards research and dissemination of technological achievements, with emphasis on hydrology, by prehistoric civilizations of Peru. The President noted the various books and publications that the Wrights authored on the Machu Picchu Archaeological Complex and the Tipon site.
In accepting the awards, the Wrights said that the decorations should really go to the prehistoric Inca civil engineers who left a legacy of excellence and remarkable public works.
This legacy will help young Peruvians better appreciate their significant technical heritage and raise their self esteem.
The Palacio Torre Tagle is the headquarters of the Ministry of External Relations. It was built in 1735 during the colonial period. The Palace is beautifully restored and contains period furnishings, paintings, and artifacts.
The Wrights' research began in 1994 at Machu Picchu and has included field studies at Machu Picchu, Tipon, and Moray, all of which are outstanding examples of ancient civil engineering achievements.
The publications by the Wrights include numerous peer-reviewed papers, dozens of articles and three books.
The Machu Picchu Guidebook by Ruth Wright is a best seller on Amazon.com with more than 70,000 copies sold. It will also be published in Peru within a few months.
Machu Picchu, A Civil Engineering Marvel by Ken Wright and Alfredo Valencia is a top-selling book by ASCE Press since its publication in 2000. In 2006,Wright authored
Tipon:
Water engineering Masterpiece of the Inca Empire, also published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Wrights are also working on a third book on the Inca site of Moray that lies half-way between Cusco and Machu Picchu.
The Wrights attribute the success of their research efforts to Dr. Alfredo Valencia of Cusco, Peru who has helped interpret the scientific aspects of the Inca archaeological sites and has assisted in the detailed field work.
They also acknowledge considerable assistance from archaeologist Dr. Gordon McEwan of Wagner College, New Jersey; Dr. Richard Burger and Lucy Burger of YaleUniversity; Dr. John Rowe and Dr. Patricia Lyon of the University of California/Berkeley; and many other scientists who have assisted in interpretation of field evidence.
Engineer Ken Wright is the founder of Wright Water Engineers, Inc. of Denver.
Ruth Wright is a lawyer and served 14 years in the Colorado Legislature, six of which were as Minority Leader. They make their home in Boulder